Little Chronicles
by Cold Sanctuary
Summary: The story of seven heroes as they journey through the dark times caused by diablo's return.
1. Wirt's Leg

Diablo belongs to Blizzard and bla bla bla. I own the names of the characters and such.

-

**Wirt's Leg**

Seven heroes stood before a blazing fire in a clearing just outside of Rogue Encampment. They had killed the Carver who inhabited it earlier. They were pondering the day's events and the outcome. At least some of them were. Others were just leaning on stones with no care in the world. Okay, so this counted for only two of the heroes.

The one thinking about the day's adventures was a young assassin. She was sitting beside a sandy haired druid who was busy patting one of his 'pet' wolves. They had just rescued Deckard Cain from a miserable death in Tristram. Purging what was left of Tristram from the demons and getting the last son of the Horadrim to safety was quite a success, true, but she just couldn't put the images of the slaughtered townsmen away.

"It's too bad that that Wirt boy died ..." She suddenly spoke to no one in particular.

The others stopped what they were doing and turned to look at her.

"I mean, he was so young and all..." She continued to say as an answer to her companion's curious looks. "Isn't it a shame that he didn't get to live a nicer life?"

"It's true." Said an even younger sorceress quietly, not looking up from her perch on a rock where she was playing with some of the gems she had found. "Tristram must have been in ruins for as long as he could remember. But then again, the other inhabitants saw many more horrors than he did... They saw their friends and family die and could do nothing about it..."

"Like Farnham." Added a Paladin. He had been staring intently at the fire the whole time.

A barbarian nodded solemnly as he resumed sharpening his axe. He had been there when it had happened along with the Paladin and the Amazon.

"He was a conniving little thief anyway." Said the Amazon carelessly who was leaning on a boulder with her eyes closed and her arms crossed on her chest. This time even the Paladin tore his eyes away from the fire and shot her a surprised look. "He would never pass up a chance to steal money. Like he would ask for 50 gold every time someone wanted to see what was being sold. And even then, there was only one item and it was rare to find something that interested me."

"Even so..." Protested the Assassin. But the Amazon suddenly got up, dusted herself off and headed towards the entrance of the Rogue Encampment.

"You think all you want about the peg-legged thief. I don't care much about it." The six companions followed her with their eyes until a Necromancer spoke. He was the youngest of them all, and had a somewhat boyish look. Very unlike a Necromancer, them being kinda into the forces of darkness and all...

"Speaking of which. Why was it his leg shaped like one of those things you use to unplug toilets?"

"Unplug wha?" Asked the Druid.

"You know, toilets. The things you use to shi-"

"I think you've been listening to Roine a bit too much Zeke." Interrupted the Druid with a grin. "You're starting to make up new strange names for things that don't even exist."

"He's gonna lose his other leg you know." Said the sorceress losing all the seriousness she had before. The others were used to her mood swings, and the Druid and Assassin will get used to it in time. When her companions raised their eyebrows, minus the Barbarian who just focused on his axe, she elaborated. "You can find it in the sixth Human Campaign after you kill some Abomination you call the Butcher or something. You know, the last time you get to have four heroes in the Human campaign. Funny that there's not much of Human at all."

The Druid just looked at her as if she had just declared that she had a mad crush on Baal. Roine, however, didn't seem to notice so she kept on rambling.

"Yes. You see, there's Night Elf, Naga, Draenai, High elf, but no friggin' Humans during most of it. Get it?" She finished and smiled in a satisfied sort of way.

"...what?" asked the Paladin slowly, but the sorceress just shrugged.

"My brother loves it." She said as if this settles the matter. Then she looked at the Druid. "He's a druid too, you know. He's a werewolf."

"Yeah, ok." The Necromancer got up from his cross-legged position on the earth and stretched. He turned away from Roine and mouthed at the newbies 'She's crazy.' and cocked his head towards the corceress. "By the way, F, since you one of the 'newbies' as Mikaela calls you two," he looked pointedly at the druid and the assassin, "then I suggest that you rest your minds and bodies. She's gonna want to test your skills in fighting tomorrow. Believe me, you're gonna need the sleep." Then he fake-shuddered and turned to Roine. "Right, Roy?"

"Say what you will, but I'm gonna enjoy the show tomorrow."

Just then the barbarian stood up and sheathed his massive axe, and without a single word to them, left the clearing.

"Man, he never talks, does he?" Grumbled the Sorceress. "I don't think I've ever heard his voice."

"That's just how he is." Said the Paladin as he too, got up, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "I think we should all 'hit the sack' as Zeke would say. Faelac, Estele, it's true that Mikaela will want to test you skills, though in a 'subtle' sort of way as you might call it."

"Yeah, but we all know what she's up to." Yawned the Necromancer. "You comin' Roy?"

She got up and grabbed her staff and gems. "No, Zek, I will not be sleeping in the same bed with you. But nice try though." She grinned and the Necromancer rolled his eyes.

"You comin'?" He asked the newbies.

"Nah, I think I'll stay a bit longer." Said the Druid.

"Me too." Confirmed the Assassin.

"Suit yourselves." Muttered Zek and staggered after Roine who was calling after the Paladin. They left the clearing but the two could still hear the conversations. Sometimes, the youngest of the team acted really childish.

"Yo Andros! Wait up!"

"Do you have to shout loud?" Hissed the Necromancer.

"Why aren't the newbies coming?"

"I Donno. I think they want to get 'acquainted' with each other." He was snickering.

"Heh, like we don't know what they're really up to."

They were silent for a moment or two until smack was heard followed by a loud 'ouch!'

"Why did you do that for?" Zek was asking angrily. Roine started answering about how he had stolen her food earlier but their voices died down.

Faelac turned to the pretty Assassin beside him and smiled. She smiled right back. What a coincidence it was that they were both new. One of the many things they must have in common, the druid thought and introduced himself again, this time adding more details about himself.

--


	2. TopazMania

Yeah. Just to answer a few questions. The previous chapter was confusing cuz there was stuff concerning the first Diablo game. Like Farnham the Drunk.

The thing about Zeke making up words that didn't exist when he talked about Wirt's leg looking like one of those things used to unplug toilets, it was because I imagined that toilets didn't exist when the events in Diablo took place. So to the people there the word 'toilet' doesn't exist.

Roine could be considered as the weirdo of the group, if you will. She sometimes goes into a trance and talks about stuff no one can understand. Like last time, she started yapping about how Wirt's other leg would end up in the sixth Human campaign of WC3, the Frozen Throne. This is true though. That's where his other leg ends up somehow. Ask Blizzard.

Mikaela, Andros and Exxos (Amazon, Paladin, Barbarian) have known each other since the quest for defeating Diablo the first time. I know that there were three types of heroes (Rogue, Sorcerer, Warrior) but in their former group there was no Sorcerers. Only a rogue and two warriors.

The events here take place in between or during the quests in Diablo 2 Expansion (Hence the two new heroes: Assassin and Druid).

-

**Topaz-Mania**

-

The morrow, Zeke and Roine were sitting on a boulder outside of Charsi's tent. They had nothing to do, so they stood watching their Barbarian teammate help Charsi with her work. They seemed to be getting along very well, and Charsi had a liking for all barbarians as far as the two observing could deduct. There had been other warriors coming and going, and among them, a few barbarians. She had reacted very warmly to them all.

Charsi was now asking Exxos to fetch her the bucket of water, which could be found near her other tools on the shed, and he went to get it wordlessly. When he came back and handed it to her, she gave him a warm smile and thanked him. Exxos lowered his head and mumbled something that sounded like 'You're welcome' and then just went back to watch her work and helping out occasionally.

Roine squinted and pricked her ears in an attempt to hear him speak, but to no avail. He had said, whatever he had said, too quietly. The sorceress gave an annoyed grunt. Charsi seemed to be the only one he talked to properly, besides maybe the Paladin or the Druid, which was weird because the latter was new to the team. She wondered why he never talked to her or Zek or Estele. Even to Mikaela he didn't have much to say, and she had traveled with him for about as long as the Paladin had. Exxos, Mikaela and Andros had been traveling together since before Diablo's defeat in Tristram a while ago. Now Diablo had come to power again it seemed, and they were supposed to stop him at all costs and yada yada yada. Roine wasn't in the mood for thinking about the world's doom right at this moment.

Just then, Gheed came into the picture. He seemed to be asking Charsi to fix some of his merchandise. Knowing him, he wanted it done for free, and since Charsi was so damn nice for her own good, and she liked Gheed because he told her stories of his travels, she would fix them as he wished. Apparently, the merchant had tried to sell a damaged weapon to some poor sap but the latter demanded a refund. Who wanted a non-functional weapon anyways? Gheed had said that there were no refunds, but the traveler had bared his fangs and got his money back anyways. Roine had seen them the night before, when she was heading to bed. The customer was a Druid. He must have been a werewolf for sure. His 'fangs' were enough proof.

"Gheed is an ass sucker." Said Roine idly while twirling a few flawless and a perfect Topaz between her fingers.

"He doesn't seem to like me much," mumbled Zeke from next to her.

"I know." She drawled. "That's one of the main reasons why he's an ass sucker."

Zeke turned to her, surprised. "Really?"

"Yep. He's afraid of Necromancers. But hell, look at you. One would never guess you're a Necromancer from the way you act."

He furrowed his brow. "Why? What's wrong with the way I act?"

Roine shrugged. "Ehn. I donno. It's just not Necromancer-like. You'd expect Necromancers to be dark and all. Most of them are. It's no wonder really. They spend all of their times locked inside some dark chamber poring over some boring book that talks about how to raise the dead. You are different somehow. More childish."

Zeke frowned deeply.

"I like it." Added Roine after a moment.

Immediately, his expression softened and he gave her a fond smile.

"Don't you go soft on me." She warned just as he was about to say something and he shut his mouth. He wanted to say that she was different too. She was unlike any other Sorceress he had ever met. Heck, she was different from other people he had ever met. Usually, everyone would shun him out because of his practices. It was the same thing with his current teammates.

Mikaela was always weary of him, keeping an eye out wherever he went. Andros seemed a bit more lenient, but Zeke could see that, he too, wasn't entirely comfortable around him. Exxos... well, he didn't have any reaction. The Barbarian seemed merely curious and very briefly surprised to see a Necromancer all of a sudden join a group of warriors. It was all thanks to Roine that they relaxed. She would always take everything lightly and dismiss any 'crap', as she would call it, about Necromancers. Zeke wasn't sure if she really thought of everything else as lightly or if this was just a way to break the ice. She was such a puzzle sometimes. One would expect the Druid to be harder to figure out.

He stole a glance Roine. She kept playing with those gems of her's. She always carried them around. And it was always Topazes.

"Why do you always play with these?" He asked.

She shrugged. "I like 'em."

"But why is it always Topazes?"

"Because they kick ass." She said simply.

He gave a confused look that spoke for itself. She continued.

"If I socket them into and item, say, armor, then I have a better chance of getting Magic items."

Zeke's eyebrows shot up.

"Yep. It's a great deal. I carry them around me all the time so if and when we find a Gem Shrine, I can get one of these upgraded. Like, A chipped Topaz becomes a Flawed Topaz, and a Flawed one turns into a Topaz. And then comes Flawless and then Perfect Topaz. Same thing for all gems."

"Wow." Was all he could say. "Where did you learn all this?"

"I did some reading on this when I was still learning elemental magic. It was for fun. I fount it interesting. I also read about another way to make gems, but I don't know if it's true. It has to do with the Horadric Cube."

When he gave her a clueless look, she just waved her hand dismissively. "Never mind."

They were silent afterward; the only sounds that could be heard were the clinking Topazes and Charsi's hammer pounding on metal. Where were the others? Mikaela had left without a word, Faelach, Estele and Andros in tow. Before they had left, Andros informed the three that were left, namely the Barbarian, the Sorceress and the Necromancer, that Mikaela had decided their next quest and that there was no need for the three to come and they could have the day off if they wished so.

Not that the three minded. It was like this most of the time anyway. They would usually split up into two groups to complete different quests. Whenever there was a real tough battle, however, they would stick together. And now there were two new members. First they had met Faelach. The weirdest thing, according to Roine anyways, was that he came into the group because of an acquaintance with Exxos. The Babarian had met him when he had gone training once. None of the others knew exactly where and how they met. Didn't matter anyway.

Then there was Estele. She had pretty much come out of the blue. Or almost. She was an Assassin. The team wasn't sure what was the purpose of Assassins, and maybe they didn't want to know, but Estele had helped Mikaela and Andros escape the Rogue Monastery once when they were in a tight spot. She was a good fighter as far as Andros had said. Since she was traveling alone, the Paladin and the Amazon asked her to join them. Besides, Mikaela probably felt like her pride was hurt when Stel helped them out. Her Amazon skills had not sufficed to defeat the enemy that day at the Monastery.

"Where did they go anyway?" Asked Zeke after a while.

Roine shrugged. "I donno. I think they said something about a Book they had found in the middle of nowhere in Stony Field one day and they were gonna kill some Countess in the Black Marsh or something."

"Countess?" He repeated. But just at that moment the others appeared in the Rogue Encampment entrance.

They looked tired and disheveled, but happy. The Druid was grinning like mad and talking to the Assassin who was laughing at whatever he had said. Andros walked beside Mikaela. He was smiling, but the Amazon had a blank look on her face. She didn't even glance at them as she headed towards their tent.

"... ever seen a ghost do that?!" Faelach was saying and Stel immediately burst into a fit of giggles.

"I'm guessing everything went well?" Asked Zeke with a smile.

Faelach tore his eyes from the Assassin for a moment. "Huh? Oh... oh that. Yeah it went well. It was too easy actually."

"Yeah sure." Said Estel grinning mischievously. "That's not what you said when-"

"Aaahh! Ok. Who wants to eat? I'm starving!" Interrupted the Druid and turned sharply for Warriv's caravan. Estele laughed and shook her head. The Andros came and clapped her firmly on the back.

"You did well today." He said with an approving smile. Then he cocked his head in Faelach's direction, who was waving his arms frantically. "He did very well too. Welcome to the team."

Estele nodded and smiled too, and then Andros left and headed for the same direction as Mikaela, which was their tent.

"Hey Stel! You coming?" Shouted the Druid.

The Assassin giggled and turned to Roine and Zeke and winked. "He would not take his eyes off of me today, you know." She said playfully but she was turning red. "Yeah, I'm coming!" She shouted back at Faelach and then she ran off.

Zeke and Roine shared an amused look. They too got up and were just heading for the caravan where the meals were usually served (I don't know if this is true.) but then Roine slowed down.

"What's wrong?" Asked Zeke.

The Sorceress frowned and looked at the tent where Mikaela and Andros now were. "It's just that... did you see how Mikaela just went without saying a word...?"

Zeke shrugged and resumed walking. "Yeah, so?"

She just shook her head and followed him.

--

Abrupt ending. Again.


	3. Misplaced Pride

Long time no update. This is dedicated to my friend S.M. who, without her knowledge, gave me the push i needed to finish this chapter.

**Misplaced pride**

As Andros enters the tent, he finds Mikaela pacing around the room. When she felt his presence she slowed down and turned to look at him before resuming her pace. The paladin shook his head, walked to his bed and took off his gloves before sitting on his bed and starting to take off the rest of his armor. In the meantime Mikaela kept pacing without saying a word. Then, not being able to stand the constant tapping of her feet on the floor, he spoke up:

"Alright. What is it?"

"What is what, Andros?" She asked, not even looking at him and continuing her pacing.

Andros sighed. "Look Mikaela. I really don't understand why you're taking this so hard."

The Amazon slowed a bit but didnt stop. "Take what so hard?" She said this in a would-be nonchalant voice, if not for the cold tone in it.

The paladin in the meantime had gotten up, opened the worn-out chest at the foot of his bed and was now putting his gloves and bracers in. "Oh, come on. Don't give me that." He replied calmly. "I know that you're upset because Estele took a few of your kills today."

Mikaela stopped dead in her tracks and Andros expected her to come up with some sort of protest, or beat around the bush as she usually does. But she didnt avoid the subject this time. In fact, she was quite direct.

"She took more than just a few kills, Andros." She said in a cold voice, and he didn't even have to turn to look to know that she was wearing that stony expression. 'Cold fury' he called it.

"It's still no reason for your pride to get hurt."

"At least I have pride, unlike some of us." She bit out scathingly.

The paladin took his armor as well as the gold he had found during the day's adventures and put them in his chest. When he finished he turned to look at the Amazon. "You have pride, Mikaela, but it's quite misplaced."

Then he approached, patted her on the shoulder and headed for the exit.

"Don't be too long. Dinner will be served soon and if you're not there Gheed or Zeke will steal all your food." He said with a small chuckle before he left, completely ignoring the disbelieving look on Mikaela's face.

--

Roine's staff made contact with Zeke's shoulder with a loud 'whack' and a muffled scream immediately followed. The sorceress then grabbed the choking necromancer by the collar and gave him a nice shake.

"That was my sausage." She snarled savagely.

The others around them looked on either in mild interest (as was the case with Exxos) or in surprise. Estele and Faelach were new and not too used to Zeke and Roine's childish fights.

"Wooeewafft." Came the half-spit reply. The three observers didn't understand anything but Roine apparently did because she gave him another hard shake before continuing.

"Yes it was. It was on _my_ plate, you filthy s'wit!"

And this is the position Andros found them in: Roine bent over on Zeke and shaking him hard, and the necromancer with his head rolling from one side to another with food coming out of the corners.

"Stop doing that or you'll end up killing him." He said.

The sorceress turned her head to look at him for a moment then continued choking the poor kid. "Yeah, hi Andros. And he deserves to die. He ate my sausage."

"Well, that's a fair trade then. You may proceed." He said walking over to Exxos and sat down, barely suppressing his smile.

Roine, of course, didn't need the approval since she was already doing that (proceeding), but nevertheless thanked him.

The four ate in silence watching the show that Zeke and Roine provided, until Estele spoke tentatively.

"You know… you won't get your sausage back like that. It's gone."

Roine sighed, and to everyone's surprise and Zeke's relief, she let him go.

"Ehn, you're right. I'll get him back some other way." Then she sat down and continued eating what was rest on her plate as if nothing had happened. The necromancer coughed a few times, swallowed the disgusting substance in his mouth that was once Roine's sausage and glared.

"You're crazy." He said simply, as if that settled it.

"No more than you deserved." She replied carelessly.

--

"Where d'you think Mikaela dissapeared to?" Asked Zeke a while later. He, Roine, Faelach and Estele had said goodnight to Exxos and Andros and were now lazily making their way to the tents. The amazon had never showed up for dinner. Not that Zeke was complaining. He got to eat all her food. He was a growing boy after all.

"I don't know." Shrugged the druid.

"Andros probably knows." Said Roine. "They discuss pretty much everything with each other. They even share the same tent."

"They share it with Exxos too." Corrected Zeke.

"But he doesn't seem like much of a talker, does he?" said Faelach.

"True..."

Then they walked in silence for a wile.

"I think Mikaela doesn't like me." Everyone turned to Etele who had been quiet and thoughtful the whole way. Zeke and Roine were surprised, but the druid gave her a sharp look.

"Where did you get that idea from?"

"It's just a feeling..." She started saying in an even smaller voice but Faelach cut her off.

"Well, it's not true." He said firmly. "You haven't done anything wrong. She probably just needs some time to adjust to the idea of two new additions to the group, that's all."

"I hope so..." Mumbled the assassin and then fell silent again. Roine shot Zeke a worried look, who continued to look puzzled. Faelach decided to change the subject.

"So, what's the plan for tomorrow?"

"I dunno." Yawned Zeke. "Andros said something about discussing it with Mikaela. But I think we're finally gonna get some real action though."

Roine rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. We'll probably be devided into groups again and, as usual, Mikaela will give us something easy, just to get us off her back."

"Why do you say that?" asked Zeke surprised.

"I don't think she takes us that seriously Zek, do you? She thinks of us as kids or something. She even trusts the newbies with more important tasks than she trusts us. No offense to you guys," she added to Estele and Faelach.

"None taken." Grinned the druid.

"Like today, she told us to have a day off. Like we needed one! Now usually I would not complain about a day off at the Academy... But this is entirely different." Continued Roine.

"But Exxos didn't go either today, did he?" Said Zeke.

The sorceress gave an impatient sigh at her friend's stupidity. "Yes, but it was only today. She just wanted to test the newbies without much interruption I'm guessing. Of course, _Andros_ is never an interruption, is he?" She said this last part in a sweet yet poisonous voice.

"Now that you mention it I would have to agree..." He said thoughtfuly. "I mean, she usually sets us tasks like finding potion ingredients for Akara, or helping the Rogues safeguard the camp. Not much of a challenge, is it...?"

"Oh, Zeke, Zeke. My poor ignorant friend... Finding potion ingredients for Akara is something as important as killing Andariel herself! After all, everyone who goes on those dangerous adventures get their healing supplies from Akara. When they're not getting them from the monsters they've slaughtered, that is. So anyway, it's as if _we're_ the heroes!" Exclaimed Roine sarcastically as she made exaggerated movements with her arms and then slapping Zeke hard on the shoulder.

Stel and Faelach shared furtive smiles, but Zeke rubbed his soulder and merely looked at his sorceress friend wearily without speaking. It wouldn't be too wise to mess with her when she weas in this mood.Who knew when a punch would fly his way?

Roine just continued her ranting.

"But seriously. She cannot stop us this time. She has no right. We're part of the team too! Who made her the damn leader anyway?! Like Akara can't get the potion ingredients herself. Even if she _is_ too busy, she can send Mrs. Finne's chickens to fetch some for her. And the Rogues? Oh, yes. They will surely need our help. No beast so much as _dares _come close to the encampment, let alone _enter_ it! And we are _so_ useful, too! The only job they have for us is to polish their fucking bows!" She paused and took a few deep, angry breaths.

"Calm down, dude..." Said the necromancer catiously.

"Shuddap!" She snapped at him, and Zeke didn't dare make a sound.

They continued to make their way silently from then on, with Roine gritting her teeth and making sure to crush every single of the crunchy leaves that had the misfortune of ending up under her boots. When they finally reached their tents Roine just stormed into hers, muttering angrily to herself.

Estele gave the boys a helpless look before saying a quiet goodnight and entering the tent after the raging sorceress. Faelach shrugged at Zeke and followed the example. The necromancer, who was now fuming because Roine had let out her anger on him again, followed the druid into the tent they shared.

--

(This is in honor of my friend Taki, who's afraid of me for the same reason.)

Right. Im already working like a dog on the next one. These first chapters may seem kinda boring to some of you, but it was kinda necessary to introduce the characters and all. Anyway, I'm getting bored of just talking. In the next one, there's bound to be moreaction.


	4. Maggots in Andariel's lair, part 1

**MAGGOTS IN ANDARIEL'S LAIR - Part I**

- -

The morning after, Mikaela had shown up looking very tired and somewhat battered. No one was quite sure where she went until Exxos mumbled to Faelach something about seeing her out in the marshes the previous night. After she returned she had gone straight to her tent without saying a word to anyone, where she remained for a while. Andros was in there waiting for her of course. The others assumed that they were coming up with a strategy on what to do next, since they were like the leaders of the group. When the paladin finally came out and sauntered away (maybe going to Gheed for gambling a bit, since it did well for the soul-but not for the pocket. Oh well, he had looted plenty of gold from the Blood Countess.) Roine went to seek out Mikaela and talk to her about the issue she had mentioned the night before. When she came back to report to Zeke, she looked very puzzled.

"She just listened to my arguments without interrupting." Roine answered the unasked question that Zeke's expression provided.

He raised his eyebrows. "And…?"

"Well, when I said that we wanted to be a part of this too, she just said that it suited her just fine. She said that I didn't have to ask for her approval, and if we manage to survive, or if we end up with one or multiple missing limbs then it would be our problem."

The gore in Mikaela's words didn't faze Zeke. Roine, on the other hand, seemed rather unnerved. "And?" He asked again.

"And that was it." said Roine impatiently. "She just crashed on her bed, turned her back on me and that was it. She's not herself Zek. I wonder what's up…?"

But the necromancer just shrugged it away, not particularly caring about the source of this sudden change. _'Typical insensitive, jackass male.'_ thought Roine. Instead, he was quite happy, and so excited about finally getting some action, that he was practically skipping through the Tamoe Highland a week later, resurrecting corpses like it was the most joyful thing in the world. Roine was more down-to-earth about this adventure than he was. Besides, she had enough sense to consider Mikaela's words about the missing limbs. She looked at the dead bodies feeling the food she had eaten earlier crawl up her throat and forming a knot there. All the protruding guts were making her sick, but Zeke's face shined whenever he saw bloodied carcasses. 'Sick dude, that one.' She thought to herself and quickly turned her head away as a squishing sound was heard from where a carcass lay nearby and a skeleton raised form it. The sorceress caught a glimpse of Mikaela. The amazon had curled her lip in disgust and was looking and Zeke with obvious disapproval, but other than that offered no comment.

Soon, the seven heroes found themselves nearing the Monastery Gate. The necromancer looked rather disappointed, but that expression was wiped away from his face soon enough.

"Don't worry, you'll have more than plenty of corpses in here. If you don't end up being one yourself, that is." Muttered Mikaela so only Zeke could hear her, as Andros and Exxos pushed open the great oak doors of the Monastery. She had a sour look on her face. As the others all filed into the place somewhat apprehensively, he followed them feeling much less enthusiastic than before.

The Outer Cloister seemed deserted and lifeless. It appeared that the heroes that had previously passed had cleared the place of any abominations. The group looked around them, realising that this was once a very beautiful place, but Andariel's corruption had taken its toll. They soon neared the Barracks. The dark foreboding interior welcomed them. The flickering torches provided a feeble light, just enough for them not to trip over their own feet.

They walked on, each in their own little world. Roine was the before last of the group. She was thinking along the lines of how creepy this place was when she felt a sudden movement behind her. Turning around sharply, she noticed that Exxos wasn't there anymore, which was weird, because he had been behind her just a moment ago. The sorceress looked around frantically until she spotted a glimpse of him. He had taken a different turn.

"Hey Exxos," she called in a strangled voice, then, seeing as he didn't answer, she raised it a little. "Exxos, wait! That's not the - where are you going…?"

But he had disappeared. Roine looked at the companions in front of her. Andros and Mikaela were talking quietly to each other; Faelach's wolves flanked them while panting loudly. Every now and then one of them would approach the druid, who in turn would pat them and murmur something incoherent. Estele followed without talking, holding on to her claws close to her. Zeke was right behind her, his excitement now completely vanished. The necromancer kept looking around him, squinting his eyes in the darkness for alien life signs and jumping out of paranoia every time one of his skeletons would crash and fall.

Roine lagged behind. Had no one noticed Exxos leave? They all seemed so absorbed in their own thoughts that they hadn't even noticed her call out to him. She looked behind, and then in front of her again, and then stopped altogether. This place was too dangerous to go wandering in alone. She could not just let him go like that. Even though Roine wasn't as good at fighting as maybe Andros or Mikaela, she could still offer some backup. She made up her mind, and with one last glance at the people in front of her, she went in the direction Exxos had disappeared to.

- -

A crash resonated off the cold stone walls and Zeke almost jumped out of his skin. What he saw when he turned to look for the source was just another skeleton. He frowned in annoyance. Just when he seemed to relax, another one went and blew up. He also saw that if they didn't find more corpses, he would run out of skeletons pretty soon.

Of course, he _could_ use those dead rogues they found on their way every now and then, but Mikaela would skin him alive. When they had first entered the place, she had insisted that they move the bodies of her Rogue sisters to a relatively safer place (since nowhere in the monastery was safe anymore). Besides, they didn't really _need_ a safer place. They were dead anyway… (At that moment Zeke was glad that Mikaela wasn't a mind reader, because if she knew what he had been thinking, she would have had his head by now.)

Still, the Amazon insisted that they do this out of respect and honour for the sisters. Then, when she saw that there were just too many of them, she just gave up and looked at their bodies mournfully every time they passed one. This moment didn't last however, since she would turn her head hastily so as not to lose her nerve. Mikaela thought that her companions didn't notice this, but they did. They just didn't say anything about it. Although she tried to be tough all the time (because the team needed someone like that to keep their wits in place during hard times) she was still made of flesh and blood, like all of them.

Then Zeke suddenly noticed that something was missing. He turned again, and saw that Roine wasn't behind him anymore. The necromancer scanned the area more closely before realising that Exxos was gone too. He tapped the closest person he was to on the shoulder who now happened to be Faelach.

"Roine's not here." He said anxiously. "And Exxos is missing too."

Everyone stopped. Andros wheeled around, looking very surprised. "Where did she go?"

"I don't know." answered Zeke, not really paying any attention to the paladin. "I don't know…"

The others searched the surrounding area too, while the necromancer kept calling the sorceress louder and louder. "Roine? Roine!"

"Shut up!" Hissed Mikaela urgently, grabbing his forearm and pulling him back.

"Where is she?" He now seemed on the verge of panic.

"Calm down." said Andros, trying to be calm himself. "We can't find her now."

"He's right." said Mikaela. "The foul beasts in this place must have been roused by your screams by now. We'd better move faster form now on." She added to Andros, who nodded.

"What? You mean you're just going to abandon her!" asked Zeke incredulously. "What if she's lost?"

"We would not be able to find her even if we tried. Besides, she can use a town portal scroll at any time." Said Andros, though he didn't seem convinced himself. _'That is, unless something jumps at her from behind and kills her before she has time to portal back to town.' _But the paladin didn't voice his thoughts seeing as what he had said had calmed Zeke down a bit. The necromancer started saying something else but Mikaela was already dragging him away.

"What about Exxos? He's gone too!"

Andros seemed to tense at this, but he was spared when Faelach spoke up.

"We'd better move. I sense something coming."

Mikaela, Andros and Estele nodded. Zeke continued his struggle, but the druid came to Mikaela's aid and the two successfully managed to take the necromancer with them.

- -

She could hear her own heart pounding in her chest. She took another turn, which led to yet another dead end. Roine let out a string of curses that wasn't exactly suitable for young ladies. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths so she could think clearly for a moment. She _could_ try teleportation… Yep, that seemed like the best alternative at the moment. But first, she focused on casting Thunder Storm (love this ability), just in case enemies attacked her when she wasn't paying attention. That done, the sorceress concentrated on the direction she guessed Exxos was in, and instantly teleported there.

Nothing. Nothing but darkness. There weren't even any of those stupid rat men that lurked in places like these. In fact, it was so weird that there weren't any enemies at all nearby. Without really knowing what she was doing she cast a frost shield spell on herself. Just as an extra precaution. Besides, it helped illuminate the way a bit better.

She teleported again. This time a lighting bolt came down and hit a creature nearby. Roine turned sharply in that direction, but saw that it was already dead. She breathed a sigh of relief, tightened her grip on her staff and tried again. And again, and again, and again. This was getting very tiring, and just when her energy was running out, she noticed a flash of silver turn just around a corner. That _must_ be that huge axe Exxos carried with him!

Her heart leaped, and not being able to contain her relief, she broke into a run. A very stupid thing to do, because just when she was turning around the corner, something grabbed her and she was shoved against the stone wall, with the sharp edge of an axe close to her throat. The sorceress froze, not being able not utter anything except for making a sort of choking sound. There was a moment where nothing moved or made a sound, until the axe slowly lowered, and she was released. Roine staggered forward, shaking slightly and not being able to breathe properly. Exxos looked stunned, but recovered quicker than Roine.

"Sorry… I thought that you were one of those cows that follow you around…" When Roine didn't answer he sheathed his axe and approached a bit. Maybe she felt insulted. He _had_ mistaken her for a cow after all, and as Exxos knew, women were very touchy about this sort of stuff. "Are you ok…?" He asked hesitantly.

She nodded hastily, but still didn't say anything. She appeared to have been too shocked to have listened to his first comment.

"Sorry…" He repeated.

"I-it's ok." She finally managed to croak out. When she seemed to be a bit calmer he spoke again.

"Why did you follow?"

Roine observed him for a while. He didn't seem mad about it.

"You can talk?" It was a rather dumb question, but she had never really heard him speak like this before. But Exxos merely looked puzzled. "Never mind. I don't know why you went your own way, but I followed because I could not just leave you wander this place alone. It's too dangerous." She explained.

"I don't need your help." He said simply, then turned around and started walking away.

Roine went after him, trying to keep up with his pace. "You never know. Maybe you will." She retorted. He gave her a sideways glance, but other than that didn't comment.

- -

"It's too quiet." muttered Mikaela through gritted teeth. "Something is not right."

And indeed, right at that moment something shuffled behind her. Without hesitating, she took out one of her poison javelins and threw it fast, so that the others barely had the time to register what had happened. It turned out that the thing lurking in the shadows was a dark minion. The javelin had gone right through it, leaving it dead. But maybe killing it seemed somewhat rash upon a closer inspection of her surroundings.  
All around the five heroes appeared dark minions just like the one Mikaela had killed. Only these had a _little_ backup. Behind them stood big misshapen giants, smoke already coming out of their mouths. Just seeing those butt-ugly-would-be-faces would be enough to make someone flee. But luckily for our heroes, they all managed to keep their pants dry. Devilkin, bone mages and warriors, and dark shamans were also present. Among them, a shaman with a bluer tinge was prominent. Obviously, this one was the leader along with a tainted giant.

One of the shamans raised his staff, gave a stupid grin, and waved it here and there a few times. There was a burst of fire behind, and turning to look, Mikaela saw that the minion she had previously killed was standing there looking very alive. It gave a snicker and was waving its club at Mikaela as if mocking her.

Nothing moved. The five companions held their breaths. The only sounds that could be heard were the snickering of the Dark minions and Faelach's wolves growling. Mikaela had grabbed another javelin and was glaring defiantly at the monsters, as if daring them to attack. Meanwhile Andros had his hand on his sword handle, but didn't take it out because he figured that that might rouse the creatures. He was scanning the surroundings, registering just how many he could take down in the shortest amount of time possible. Faelach was also scanning his surroundings, but he was thinking about the bad position they had ended up in, rather than smashing skulls with his mace. Estele had already taken a fighting position. She hadn't said a word since they had started the journey.

Zeke was rooted on the spot. However, he recovered enough to take a step back, and run right into a barrel, which tumbled over, fell on the floor and rolled over until it made contact with the wall where it exploded with a big bang. That did it. Poor Zeke had only enough time to mouth a 'sorry' to Mikaela who was now glaring daggers at him. The last thing he could think of was that he hoped Exxos and Roine didn't end up in a similar position, before the monsters all lunged forward at the same time.

----

Well, that's the first part. They're going kill Andariel next time. I changed this chapter because I didn't like the way I had made it before.


	5. Maggots in Andariel's lair, part 2

**MAGGOTS IN ANDARIEL'S LAIR – Part II**

--

"So, why did you leave like that?" Asked Roine as Exxos slashed at some devilkin that came his way.

"None of your concern." he answered simply. He kept on killing endless amounts of devilkin, yet they kept on coming. Exxos grunted in annoyance. '_Didn't I already kill these_?'

"Common, I'm part of this too now, so why won't you tell me?" Pleaded the sorceress, as she cast an ice blast spell distractedly, thus killing the shaman that was hidden behind some barrels.

Exxos looked at the shaman, then at Roine. Then turned around and continued on his way.

"We're going to kill the Smith." He said finally.

"The wha?"

"The smith."

Roine rolled her eyes. "I heard you the first time. But why are we going to kill him?"

"He's got Charsi's Hammer."

"Ooohh…" Said Roine slowly and suggestively, raising her eyebrows and smirking at Exxos. "Charsi's eh?"

"Yes." replied Exxos, who was starting to feel uneasy without knowing why. He avoided her piercing stare and tried to change the subject. "I think this is the right way." He turned into another dimly lit path.

"Do you know what it looks like? The smith I mean."

Exxos, relieved that she didn't pursue the previous subject, answered this question gladly. "I'm not quite sure… But it's not human. Perhaps we should look for something big and -"

His sentence was cut off by a loud crash and a deep dangerous voice echoed through the cold stone walls.

"I'll make weapons from your bones!"

"- something like that…" continued Exxos, his voice faltering as a huge brute of about ten feet appeared, with sinister horns on it's head, and with a bluish tinge. The smith was not only large, but also wide and he sure ran fast. It dived head first towards the two heroes and was brandishing a big hammer in its right hand. But Roine could see no more of the monster because Exxos had come between her and the Smith.

"Stay back." He said unsheathing his humongous axe.

Roine had always wondered how he had managed to carry that thing around, but now she was too annoyed to think of the axe. It was like Mikaela had rubbed off on him. He too, was treating her like a child. But she didn't have time to voice any complaints because Exxos had lunged at the Smith, and they were now engaged in battle. She thought it unwise to interfere, lest it would break his concentration, so instead the sorceress focused on killing the minions around them. They were small, and didn't offer a great challenge, but they were many. The little devils scrambled around as she cast ice balls at them, but they couldn't escape. They froze in mid-run, and Roine seized this chance to whack them hard till they blew up into tiny pieces. Her main focus however, was the shamans. And that's where she directed her main attacks.

Meanwhile, Exxos was slashing at the big brute. However, the little devilkin kept on scratching at his arms and legs, so he had to divide his attention. He was doing fine until a particularly pesky devil bit him hard. Exxos hissed and quickly introduced his axe to the pest, but this fraction of a second was enough for the smith to aim a hard blow at his right shoulder. A shout of pain escaped him as he lost his grip on his axe, which fell on the floor with a loud clang. The Smith hit him again until he ended up on the floor, the devilkin all jumping on him, some trying to choke him, others clubbing at him and scratching every inch of his flesh that was exposed. A second later they all scrambled away in panic and Exxos saw, with a horrified expression, that the Smith was aiming a blow straight for his head. Just when he thought that everything was over, the Smith had frozen in mid-swing, and he saw the tip of a staff hitting it behind the knees, so the smith fell on his back on the floor. Then Roine's face appeared. She extended a hand, and Exxos gladly took it.

"Thanks…" He breathed shakily, and she nodded.

"Finish him off quickly while he's still down."

Exxos seized his axe as Roine froze the Smith again, seeing as he was just starting to get up. The barbarian seized his chance and sliced the smith's head, and he heard Roine make a disgusted sound. He turned to see her, but she was keeping herself busy by finishing off the last of the devilkin, and determinately not looking at the spot where the now headless Smith lay.

His heart was still pounding hard in his chest. If it hadn't been for the sorceress, his brains would be scattered all over the floor by now. He shuddered just as she turned around, and was going to thank her again but was stopped by her squeal of delight.

Roine had just spotted something behind Exxos, and she darted towards it. He followed her with a puzzled expression and saw that she was standing in front of a big stone statue and was placing a yellow gem in a hole.

"What are you doing?" He enquired, not being able to hide the curiosity from his voice.

She wheeled around and beamed at him.

"A gem shrine!"

A muffled rumble was heard from the stone pillar and the flawless Topaz that the stone statue had sucked in, was now replaced by a perfect Topaz. Roine took it carefully and examined it with delight.

Exxos sighed, shook his head and went back to get the Charsi's Horadric Malus. When he returned, he saw that Roine was still admiring her new perfect gem.

"It would have been much better if it had been a blood fountain…" Muttered the barbarian thoughtfully to himself.

This seemed to snap Roine out of her dream world. "A blood fountain?"

"So we could heal."

"Ooooh, you mean a health fountain?"

"Yes." He started walking away and Roine followed him.

"Why did you call it a blood fountain?"

"Because," explained the barbarian, "It's made of blood."

Roine stopped dead in her tracks. Exxos turned to look at her and saw that she was wearing a horrified expression.

"Made of blood? It didn't taste of blood when I drank from it…" She mumbled feebly. "Is it… really made of blood…?"

"No."

The sorceress blinked a few times and her expression turned to annoyance. "Ha ha. What a revelation. Not only can you talk but you also have a sense of humor."

Exxos just smiled at her sarcastic comment, and made a portal to town.

"Oh! And you can smile too!"

Exxos again didn't reply. He just stepped in the portal, Roine following his example.

---

The barbarian headed for Charsi's forge as soon as he had gotten through the portal. Roine, wanting to see the show, followed him.

Charsi and the barbarian exchanged a few words quietly which Roine couldn't hear, but when Exxos took out the Malus she let out a scream of joy and jumped at him.

"Oh, thank you, thank you!" She said, choking him with her arms around his neck. After a while of squeezing she let go, her face was radiating happiness. "Thank you so much. Oh, my goodness! When I told you the story of how I lost the Malus I didn't really expect you to go and fetch it for me! Oh, thank you Exxos! But I'm so sorry that you went through all that danger for me."

"No trouble at all." muttered Exxos feeling very self conscious. Roine grinned at him mischievously but he turned his reddening face away from her gaze. Roine left the scene and headed for Akara's tent, hearing something about imbuing an item of choice with magical powers before they were out of earshot. Once she reached the priestess' tent she asked Akara to help her with some minor scratches, courtesy of the devilkin, and stocked up on potions when Exxos joined them. He was worse than Roine, but nothing too serious.

"Sooo, you gots a crush on Charsi eh?" she asked when there was no one around. Upon seeing her grin and hearing her comment Exxos started reddening again but was saved from answering this embarrassing question.

"What the hell are you two doing!" cried an angry voice. Roine and Exxos turned and saw a very battered-looking Faelach limping towards them. He looked livid. "Where the hell were you! If there's ever a time when you would be needed it is now!" He shouted in their faces.

Both Roine and Exxos were taken aback by his outburst since they had never seen the usually calm druid in this state of distress.

"Calm down, what's wrong." asked Exxos.

The druid's eyes flashed dangerously. "What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong! A huge horde of monsters just ambushed us in the catacombs! The others sent me to stock up on potions and perhaps see if you two had returned." He finished breathing deeply. Since he had apparently let out all his anger, he now sighed heavily.

"Where's the portal?" enquired the barbarian in a serious voice.

"Follow me -"

"No." interrupted Exxos. "You go heal and get more potions, like they said. Just tell me where it is."

Faelach, being too tired to protest, pointed to the direction of the portal. Exxos and Roine didn't have to be told twice. They dashed in that direction and as soon as they found the druid's portal, they went through.

---

As soon as Roine and Exxos entered the scene, they received grateful and angry looks. Grateful looks from Zeke, Estele and Andros, and angry ones from Mikaela. None of them had much time to thank the heavens or curse the new arrivals however, since they were all very busy fending off the abominations that had previously ambushed them.

Andros was battling with what looked like the leader of the misshapen giant monsters. He fought until the monster was against the wall then began smiting it with its shield. He couldn't focus only on that though, for others were attacking him from all sides. At least the misshapen leader was stunned for a while. Mikaela jabbed her spear vigorously at everything that came near her, and every now and then threw a javelin or two in order to fend off the monsters that came near Zeke. The latter was also busy blowing up corpses and raising the dead, and didn't even receive sour looks from Mikaela since she was so absorbed in what she was doing. Estele seemed quite wounded, but she kept on slashing despite her disadvantage.

At once Roine and Exxos started helping their companions. The sorceress summoned a frosty blizzard storm and glacial spikes which froze and slowed down the enemies, giving the others a fraction of a second to recover their breath. Exxos unsheathed his giant axe and started slicing the monsters as if they were onions or tomatoes, while Roine focused on those pesky shamans. After they had cleared the place quite a bit they were joined by Faelach. Now refreshed, he ran towards Estele and handed her the potions, taking over for her. The party, after killing the last of the bastards that had cornered them, breathed a sigh of relief. It was a good thing that they had sent Faelach to town, and it was a very good thing that he had found Exxos and Roine there… And speaking of which…

"Where were you two!" demanded Mikaela furiously after she had recovered her breath and had sheathed her javelins and spear.

"We were running an errand for Charsi." Replied Exxos calmly.

The Amazon was about to say something else but Andros cut her off.

"It's ok Mikaela. The important thing is that they came just in time to help us out." He too, sheathed his weapon and paced around the place a bit. "It appears like the others that have come here before us had cleared the way to the lower levels of catacombs, but they haven't strayed to kill the rest of the monsters. That's why we were attacked by so many of them at once. So if we want to go straight for Andariel we should go through the cleared corridors. They will lead us to the right way.""

"Let's go then." said Faelach quietly, after a bit of hesitation.

Andros nodded and waited for the approval of the rest of the party. They all seemed worried and nervous as well. Even Exxos felt the tension of the upcoming battle, and he couldn't help expressing it. Nevertheless they all agreed to the plan seeing as there was no other choice. So they followed the cleared corridors, the dim light of the torches clinging to the walls lighting their way as they went.

---

Sure enough, the empty corridors lead them to the lower levels of the catacombs, and the lower they went, the darker it became, and everyone swam in their memories once more. A dark shadow that Mikaela couldn't explain came over Andros and she looked at him worriedly, thought she didn't dare interrupt his thoughts, whatever they may be. Zeke was thinking how different he had thought this adventure would be and finally understood why Mikaela would leave him and Roine behind. As for Roine, she had adapted to the circumstances far better than Zeke had, since she had received training at the Academy, but was as unnerved as the others. None of them said a word.

They were in the third level of the catacombs when they heard battle noises. The more they progressed, the louder they became.

"They must be fighting Andariel already…" said Faelach, breaking the silence.

"Yes, that's what it sounds like." replied Estele, speaking for the first time since they had entered the place.

They went on a little more and they saw the last staircase or the catacombs. The party took out their weapons and got ready for battle. The first to go was Andros, followed by Mikaela and Exxos. The three didn't hesitate a moment. They did have more battle experience than the rest after all. The rest were more apprehensive. They took a few deep breaths just before they descended.

Chaos had broken loose. There were even more monsters than those that had cornered them, but there were other warriors there as well. Another paladin was throwing hammers everywhere, while a werebear acted as a meat shield for his Necromancer companion, who in turn was cursing every enemy that he could see. Andros, Mikaela and Exxos were nowhere to be found. They had gone directly to Andariel, perhaps. Faelach immediately summoned his wolves and began smashing at some skeletons. Estele busied herself with some sinister looking zombies, while Zeke summoned skeleton warriors. They were confronted by a group of ghosts, which sucked the energy right out of everyone. Roine quickly froze them while another sorceress summoned meteors.

"Yana! How did you end up here?" exclaimed Roine.

"Just like everyone else I guess…" answered the other sorceress. "This has been very ugly. There's even more monsters in the other chamber. And I don't even want to think of how Andariel will be."

"There are other chambers? Where?"

Yana pointed at a door at the far end of the room. Roine immediately teleported close by where there was no monsters. She entered it and saw even more chaos. Blood and corpses were strewn everywhere. Other heroes, werewolves, assassins who were putting up traps, amazons who shot homing arrows, necromancers, rogues, paladins in grand armor, even more sorceresses, barbarians who looked so brutal that made Roine wonder if Exxos was a phenomenon of his people. He didn't resemble them at all. Exxos seemed calmer somehow. Estele had joined her a moment later. She too recognized school mates and merely had time to greet them before she rushed into action. She was smooth and swift, attacking the monsters and finishing them off with graceful but deadly combinations. _'Wow, she's good…'_ thought Roine. _'And she seems so focused too.'_

A giant double door was open, and the two companions only caught a glimpse of what was inside when an equally giant harpy looking woman came out of it, sending waves of poison all over the warriors that were inside. She had four long tentacles with stings on the ends coming out of her back, her hair was literally on end, and she had claws for hands. She was also topless with pierced nipples, and most of the males stared stupidly until a finally a paladin snapped out of it and helped everyone by spreading a cleansing aura. Everyone rushed forward and attacked her with whatever they had and Estele and Roine did the same.

"Die Maggots!" she hissed as she sent a werewolf and a paladin who was trying to throw hammers at her flying. They crashed on some barrels which exploded. But the demon lady didn't stop there. She grabbed a nearby necromancer and pierced him in the chest with one of her sharp tentacles. This done, she threw him away as well.

"Dennis!" cried a sorceress just as she was sending out chains of lightning. She teleported to where the necromancer lay and started shaking him. "Please…Dennis, please…" When she received no reply she started crying hysterically and shaking the necromancer more fiercely than ever, begging him to say something, until a trap assassin grabbed her and tried to teleport her to town.

"NOOO! Let go of me! I won't go without him…"

But the assassin was aided by the paladin who had used the cleansing aura. "There's nothing you can do now…" The paladin said, before they disappeared.

But this wasn't the last warrior Andariel slew that day, for more heroes went to the other world, together with Dennis the necromancer. The rest of the heroes were shaken by the loss of their allies, but they continued to fight valiantly, despite the venom Andariel threw at them. No matter how many antidote potions they used, they got infected again. Mikaela threw poison javelins with immense speed, Roine slowed down the demon by shooting ice bolts, Andros, Exxos and Estele relentlessly attacked. Meanwhile Zeke and Faelach also entered the scene and sent the wolves and skeletons towards Andariel. Not only did they have to fight Andariel, but also her minions who kept coming out of the chamber with the giant double door.

Finally, all their strength combined defeated Andariel, but the ones who had lost their companions didn't have the heart to celebrate. They merely recuperated the bodies and returned to town. The paladin who dragged the sorceress away came back to take the body of Dennis. Andros and the rest of the party returned to the encampment also. Thankfully none of them was dead, but Exxos had a deep gash in his chest which needed immediate healing, and Estele appeared to have a broken arm. Roine dragged herself with what strength she had left, since the venom had depleted most of her health Faelach and Zeke were less wounded, but they were quite shaken.

As soon as they entered the Encampment they were helped by the Rogues.

"Take the barbarian immediately to Akara's tent. The Assassin will need her assistance as well." said Andros to the Rogues that had come to help them. "Roine, Mikaela, come with me. We may not be in dire need of Akara, but we still need assistance. Faelach, Zeke. Go to my tent and you'll find some rejuvenation potions on my bed."

Faelach and the necromancer did as they were told, while Roine and Mikaela followed Andros. Just then Kashya, the captain of the rogues appeared in front of them.

"I wanted to thank you all," she said to Andros, as he was the leader of the group "for helping us by disposing of that foul demon. The Order of the Sightless Eye will be forever in your debt. We realize that you went through dangers, as we saw the bodies of fallen heroes, and we appreciate your help even more. But you need assistance. The healing tent is right by Gheed's wagon. The nurses will take good care of you, I assure you. They have been trained in healing magic since before the fall of the Zakarum church."

Andros nodded, ignoring the mention of the Zakarum church and led the way to the healing tent. It was a very large one, gray as most of the other tents in the encampment were. There were many rows of beds. At the far end some beds were surrounded by drapes. All the beds were occupied by the hurt heroes. Male and female healers hurried about, helping many at the same time, but they were overwhelmed by the wounded.

"Who do you think is occupying those beds with the curtains?" asked Roine quietly. "Do you think it's the dead heroes?"

"No." replied Mikaela. "There's a special tent for them." She nodded towards a black tent opposite to the nursery. The three could see the sorceress still crying and writhing before a bed where the corpse of Dennis probably lay covered with a thick gray cloth, while the assassin held her tight and rocked her back and forth. The paladin was standing right beside them, sadness etched on his features.

But the three didn't look at the scene too long. Instead, they entered the healing tent. Roine saw Yana again; a young male healer was bandaging up her hands. Roine gave her a small smile and she returned it. Andros left Mikaela and Roine under the care of a middle-aged female, turned around and headed for the exit.

"Where are you going?" Mikaela called after him. "You need healing too."

"I need to talk to Warriv about a ride to Lut Gholein. I won't be long."

"But why can't it wait?"

"Because that's where they say the dark wanderer went." Replied Andros as that dark shadow fell over him again. He said no more as he left the tent, leaving Mikaela staring at his back, wondering and worrying about that ominous shadow.

---


End file.
